Apparatus and method of scanning and/or printing an image

ABSTRACT

A scanning apparatus and a method thereof include a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting a scanned result, at least one external storage unit detachably attached to the apparatus, at least one internal storage unit, and a controller detecting an attachment state of the external storage unit and storing the scanned result in one of the external storage unit and the internal storage unit according to the attachment state of the external storage unit. The scanning unit of the scanning apparatus is combined with a user scanning unit and a user printing unit into a combination apparatus, and the scanned result is printed in a printing apparatus spaced-apart from the scanning apparatus by a distance, thereby removing cables between the scanning or printing apparatus and a personal computer. Regardless of an attachment state of the external storage unit, the document is scanned in the real time, and the scanning apparatus is commonly used with a plurality of personal computers which are not connected to the scanning apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent ApplicationNos. 2002-67106 and 2003-61056 filed with the Korea Industrial PropertyOffice on Oct. 31, 2002 and Sep. 2, 2003, respectively, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

QBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a scanner and a printer, or an apparatuscombined with a scanner to provide a scanning function, and particularlyto, an apparatus and a method of scanning an image and/or printing thescanned image.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] According to a conventional scanning/printing method, a useroperates a scanning application program in a personal computer (notshown). After a scanner (not shown) is connected to the personalcomputer, a scanning operation of scanning a document (image or data) isperformed, and the scanned document (scanned image or scanned result) isstored in a hard disk (not shown) of the personal computer.

[0006] When the document is scanned according to the conventionalscanning method, the scanner and the personal computer should bephysically connected through a parallel cable or a universal serial bus(USB) cable, and the scanned document should be stored in the hard diskof the personal computer. In a case that a plurality of personalcomputers are not connected to the scanner through a network, it isimpossible to perform the scanning operation in the personal computerwhich is not connected to the scanner, since the scanning of thedocument is possible in only the computer connected to the scanner.

[0007] Since a user cannot scan the document using the personal computerwhich is not connected to the scanner, the user should use the computerconnected to the scanner to store the scanned document in a storagemedium and then connect the storage medium to the personal computerwhich is not connected to the scanner. Moreover, due to the cablesconnected between the scanner and the personal computers used to performthe scanning of the document, surroundings are not neat. Furthermore,manufacturing costs increase, and the increased manufacturing costs areshifted to the user.

[0008] According to the conventional scanning/printing method, after thescanned document is stored in the storage medium, the user needs todetach the scanner from the computer to connect a printer to thecomputer in order to print the scanned document stored in the storagemedium.

[0009] When the parallel or universal serial bus (USB) cable or a USBhub is used as the cable to connect the scanner or the printer to thecomputer, the user may not have to detach the scanner or the printerfrom the computer. In this case, the scanned document can be printedthrough the printer connected to the computer using a printing functionof a scanning application program according to the conventionalscanning/printing method.

[0010] However, in order to perform the scanning/printing of thedocument, the scanning/printing application program should be operatedin the computer for the scanning operation and the printing operationaccording to the conventional scanning/printing method. Therefore, thereare problems in that the document cannot be scanned or printed withoutoperating the computer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In order to solve the above and/or other problems, it is anaspect of the present invention to provide a scanning and/or printingapparatus to scan a document (image or data) or print the scanneddocument without connecting a scanner/printer to a computer.

[0012] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide ascanning and/or printing method to scan a document (image or data) orprint the scanned document without connecting a scanner/printer to acomputer.

[0013] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

[0014] In order achieve the above and/or other aspects of the presentinvention, there is provided a scanning and/or printing apparatusincluding a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting a scannedresult, a storage unit storing the scanned result inputted from thescanning unit, and a printing unit reading the scanned result from thestorage unit to print the scanned result, wherein the storage unit isselectively connected to one of the scanning unit and the printing unit.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, a scanningand/or printing apparatus includes a scanning/printing unit scanning adocument and printing the scanned result, and a plurality of storageunits storing the scanned result inputted from the scanning/printingunit, wherein the scanning/printing unit prints the scanned result readfrom the storage units.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a scanningapparatus includes a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting ascanned result, at least one external storage unit detachably attachedto the apparatus, at least one internal storage unit, and a controllerdetecting an attachment state of the external storage unit, and storingthe scanned result in one of the external storage unit and the internalstorage unit according to the attachment state of the external storageunit.

[0017] In order achieve the above and/or other aspects of the presentinvention, there is provided a method of scanning and/or printing usingthe scanning and/or printing apparatus of the above embodiment of thepresent invention, the method including causing a storage unit to beconnected to a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting ascanned result, storing the scanned result inputted from the scanningunit into the storage unit, causing the storage unit to be connected toa printing unit reading the scanned result from the storage unit, andprinting the scanned result read from the storage unit in the printingunit.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method ofscanning and/or printing using the scanning and/or printing apparatus ofthe above embodiment of the present invention includes scanning adocument in a scanning/printing unit, storing a scanned result in aplurality of storage units, reading the scanned result from the storageunits, and printing the scanned result read from the storage unit.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method ofscanning and/or printing using the scanning apparatus of an embodimentof the present invention includes scanning a document and outputting ascanned result in a scanning unit, causing an internal storage unit tobe disposed inside the scanning apparatus and an external storage unitto be detachably attached to the scanning apparatus, detecting anattachment state of the external storage unit to the scanning apparatus,storing the scanned result in the external storage unit according to theattachment state in which the external storage unit is attached to thescanning apparatus, and storing the scanned result in the internalstorage unit according to the attachment state in which the externalstorage unit is not attached to the scanning apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from thefollowing description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

[0021]FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams showing a scanning and/orprinting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of scanning and/orprinting using the scanning and/or printing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a scanning and/or printingapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a method of scanning and/orprinting using the scanning and/or printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

[0025]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a scanning apparatus accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a method of scanning and/orprinting using the scanning apparatus shown in FIG. 5; and

[0027]FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing another operation of scanning animage according to the method shown in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

[0029] Hereinafter, a scanning and/or printing apparatus and a methodthereof will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 through 7.

[0030]FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams showing the scanning and/orprinting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the scanning and/or printing apparatusincludes a first storage unit 10, first and second connectors 12 and 14,a first scanning unit 16, and a printing unit 18.

[0031] The first scanning unit 16 includes a scanner scanning a document(image or data) to output the scanned result (scanned document, scannedimage, scanned data) to the first storage unit 10. The scanned result isinputted to and stored in the first storage unit 10. The printing unit18 includes a printer printing the scanned result which is read from thefirst storage unit 10. The first storage unit 10 is selectively detachedfrom the first scanning unit 16 and attached to the printing unit 18 ordetached from the printing unit 18 and attached to the first scanningunit 16. The first storage unit 10 is connected to the first scanningunit 16 to store the scanned result, and is detached from the firstscanning unit 16 to be attached to the printing unit 18 to print thescanned result.

[0032] The scanning and/or printing apparatus further includes the firstand second connectors 12 and 14. The first storage unit 10 is connectedto the first scanning unit 16 through the first connector 12 and isconnected to the printing unit 18 through the second connector 14.

[0033] The first scanning unit 16 includes a first input/output port 20,a scanning control unit 22, a first display unit 24, and a first keyunit 26. Alternatively, the first scanning unit 16 may not include atleast one of the first display unit 24 and the first key unit which areshown in FIG. 1A. The scanning control unit 22 outputs the scanningresult to the first storage unit 10 through the first input/output port20 and the first connector 12. The first display unit 24 displays thescanning result according to a first control signal inputted from thescanning control unit 22. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel can beused as the first display unit 24. The scanning result displayed on thefirst display unit 24 may be read and inputted from the first storageunit 10 through the first input/output port 20, or inputted from thescanning control unit 22. The first key unit 26 generates a firstsearching signal, a first deleting signal, and a first selecting signalaccording to a user manipulation, and the generated first searching,deleting, and selecting signals are outputted to the scanning controlunit 22. The scanning control unit 22 generates the first control signalto scroll the scanned result displayed on the first display unit 24according to the first searching signal of the first key unit 26 todelete the scanned result according to the first deleting signal of thefirst key unit 26, and to select the scanned result according to thefirst selecting signal of the first key unit 26.

[0034] For example, when a plurality of scanned results are stored inthe first storage unit 10 connected through the first connector 12, thescanned results may be displayed on the first display unit 24. The usermay select, search, and delete one of the scanned results using thefirst key unit 26 while watching the scanned results displayed on thefirst display unit 24.

[0035] The printing unit 18 includes a second input/output port 30, aprinting control unit 32, a second display unit 34, and a second keyunit 36. Alternatively, the printing unit 18 may not include at leastone of the second display unit 34 and the second key unit 36 which areshown in FIG. 1B. The printing control unit 32 prints the scannedresult, which is inputted from the first storage unit 10 through thesecond connector 14 and the second input/output port 30. Here, thesecond display unit 34 displays the scanning result which is read andinputted from the first storage unit 10 through the second connector 14and the second input/output port 30, according to a second controlsignal inputted from the printing control unit 32. The LCD panel may beused as the second display unit 34. The second key unit 36 generates asecond searching signal, a second deleting signal, and a secondselecting signal according to the user manipulation, and the generatedsecond searching, deleting, and selecting signals are outputted to theprinting control unit 32. The printing control unit 22 generates thesecond control signal to scroll the scanned result displayed on thesecond display unit 34 according to the second searching signal of thesecond key unit 36 to delete the scanned result according to the seconddeleting signal of the second key unit 36, and to select the scannedresult according to the second selecting signal of the second key unit36.

[0036] For example, when a plurality of scanned results are stored inthe first storage unit 10 connected through the first connector 12, thescanned results stored in the first storage unit 10 may be displayed onthe second display unit 24. The user may select, search, and delete atleast one of the scanned results using the second key unit 36 whilewatching the scanned results displayed on the second display unit 24.

[0037] In a case that the first storage unit 10, as shown in FIG. 1A or1B, is a universal serial bus (USB) flash memory stick, a USBinput/output connector can be used as respective ones of the first andsecond connectors 12, 14, and a USB input/output port can be used as thefirst and second input/output ports 20, 30. Since the first and secondconnectors 12, 14 have different structures for the personalcomputer-connecting purpose and for peripheral-connecting purposeregarding the shape, the first and second connectors may have astructure on which a basic USB connector for the personalcomputer-connecting purpose is detachably combined with a connector forthe peripheral-connecting purpose.

[0038] A scanning and/or printing method performed using the scanningand/or printing apparatus of FIGS. 1A and 1B will be explainedhereinafter with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2.

[0039]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the method of scanning and/orprinting using the scanning and/or printing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B. The method includes operations 60 through 62 of scanning thedocument and storing the scanned result, and operations 64 through 68 ofreading and printing the scanned result.

[0040] The first storage unit 10 is connected to the first scanning unit16 to store the scanned result in operation 60. That is, the firststorage unit 10 and the first scanning unit 16 are connected to eachother through the first connector 12.

[0041] The first scanning unit 16 stores the scanned result in the firststorage unit 10 in operation 62. The scanning control unit 22 transmitsthe scanned result to the first storage unit 10 through the firstinput/output port 20 and the first connector 12 to store the scannedresult in the first storage unit 10.

[0042] The first storage unit 10 storing the scanned result is connectedto the printing unit 18 in operation 64. That is, the first storage unit10 and the printing unit 18 are connected to each other through thesecond connector 14.

[0043] The printing control unit 32 reads the scanned result from thefirst storage unit 10 in operation 66, and the printing control unit 32prints the read scanned result in operation 68.

[0044] Hereinafter, another embodiment of the scanning and/or printingapparatus will be explained with reference to the drawings.

[0045]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a scanning and/or printingapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 3, the scanning and/or printing apparatus of thisembodiment includes 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84, 3-1, . . . ,3-N connectors 82, 86, and a scanning and/or printing unit 100. Here, Nis a positive integer.

[0046] The scanning and/or printing unit 100 includes a scanner to scanthe document and outputs the scanned result to the 2-1, . . . , 2-Nstorage units 80, 84. The 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84 storesthe scanned result inputted from the scanning and/or printing unit 100.The scanning and/or printing unit 100 may have a printer to print thescanned result read from a 2-n storage unit (1<n<N) 80 or 84.

[0047] The scanning and/or printing unit 100 further includes the 3-1, .. . , 3-N connectors 82, 86 to connect respective ones of the 2-1, . . ., 2-N storage units 80, 84 to the scanning and/or printing unit 100through corresponding ones of the 3-1, . . . , 3-N connectors 82, 86.

[0048] The scanning and/or printing unit 100 includes a thirdinput/output port 90, a scanning and/or printing control unit 92, athird display 94, and a third key unit 96. The scanning and/or printingunit 100 may not includes at least one of the third display unit 94 andthe third key unit 96. The scanning and/or printing control unit 92transmits the scanned result to one or the respective ones of the 2-1, .. . , 2-N storage units 80, 84 through the third input/output port 90and the corresponding ones of the 3-1,...,3-N connectors 82, 86. Thescanning and/or printing control unit 92 prints the canned result readand inputted from the one or the respective ones of the 2-1, . . . , 2-Nstorage units 80, 84 through the corresponding ones of the3-1,...,3-connectors 82, 86 and the third input/output port 90.

[0049] The third display unit 94 displays the scanned result accordingto a third control signal inputted from the scanning/printing controlunit 92. The third display unit 94 also displays the scanned result readand inputted from one of the respective ones of the 2-1, . . . , 2-Nstorage units 80, 84 through the corresponding ones of the 3-1, . . . ,3-N connectors 82, 86 and the third input/output port 90 according to afourth control signal inputted from the scanning/printing control unit92. The LCD panel can be used as the third display unit 94.

[0050] The third key unit 96 generates a third searching signal, a thirddeleting signal, and a third selecting signal according to the usermanipulation, and outputs the third searching, deleting, and selectingsignals to the scanning/printing control unit 92. The scanning/printingcontrol unit 92 generates the third and fourth control signals to scrollthe scanned results displayed on the third display unit 94 according tothe third searching signal inputted from the third key unit 96. Thescanning/printing control unit 92 deletes the scanned result in responseto the third deleting signal inputted from the third key unit 96, andalso selects the scanned result in response to the third selectingsignal inputted from the third key unit 96.

[0051] The scanned results stored in the 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units80, 84 can be displayed on the third display unit 94. The user mayselect, search, delete at least one of the scanned results using thethird key unit 96 while watching the scanned results displayed on thethird display unit 94.

[0052] The scanned results include a first scanned result correspondingto a first document, a second scanned result corresponding to a seconddocument, and a third scanned result corresponding to a third document.The first, second, third scanned results may be stored in first, second,and third storage units, respectively, according to the third selectingsignal. However, the first, second, third scanned results may be storedin one of the first, second, and third storage units, or in each of thefirst, second, and third storage units according to the third selectingsignal. The third display unit may display each or all of the first,second, and third scanned results according to the third selectingsignal.

[0053] The third input/output port 90 performs all functions of thefirst and second input/output ports 20, 30 of FIGS. 1A and 1B. Thescanning/printing control unit 92 performs all functions of the scanningcontrol unit 22 and the printing control unit 32, the third display unit94 performs all functions of the first and second display unit 24, 34,and the third key unit 96 performs all functions of the first and secondkey units 26, 36. If the scanning and/or printing apparatus is anapparatus combined with the printer and the scanner to perform scanningand printing operations, the scanning and/or printing apparatus isrealized with the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 rather than the apparatusshown in FIG. 1A or 1B.

[0054] Another scanning and printing method performed wit the scanningand/or printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 will be explained withreference to the drawings.

[0055]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the method performed with thescanning and/or printing apparatus shown in FIG. 3. The method includesan operation 120 of storing the scanned result in the 2-1, . . . , 2-Nstorage units 80, 84, operations 122 and 124 of reading the scannedresult stored in the 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84, and printingthe read scanned result.

[0056] The scanning/printing control unit 92 stores the scanned resultin the 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84 in operation 120. Thescanning/printing control unit 92 reads the scanned result which isstored in the 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84, from at least oneof the 2-1, . . . , 2-N storage units 80, 84 in operation 122. Thescanning/printing control unit 92 prints the read scanned result inoperation 124.

[0057] Hereinafter, another embodiment of the scanning and/or printingapparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

[0058]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the scanning apparatus accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, thescanning apparatus includes a second scanning unit 140, a controller142, an internal storage unit 144, an external storage unit 146, andfirst and second interface units 148, 150.

[0059] The second scanning unit 140 shown in FIG. 5 includes a scanningmechanism to scan the document and to output the scanned result to thecontroller 142. A charge coupled device (not shown) or a contact imagesensor can be used as the second scanning unit 140.

[0060] The controller 142 detects whether the external storage unit 146is attached to the scanning apparatus of FIG. 5, and stores the scannedresult inputted from the second scanning unit 140 in at least one of theinternal storage unit 144 and the external storage unit 146 upondetermining that the external storage unit 146 is attached to thescanning apparatus. A dynamic RAM (not shown) can be used as theinternal storage unit 144.

[0061] The controller 142 may include a converter to convert an analogsignal received from the second scanning unit 140 into a digital signal(the scanned result). Here, the controller 142 may image-processes thescanned result. A image processor which image-processes the scannedresult can be included in the controller 142 or can be provided outsidethe controller 142. The image-processed digital signal can be stored inthe internal storage unit 144 or the external storage unit 146 as thescanned result.

[0062] The external storage unit 146 is detachably attached to thesecond scanning unit 140 of FIG. 5. Here, a portable memory, forexample, any type of currently used memory, can be used as the externalstorage unit 146. Also, a memory stick (MS), a compact flash (CF) card,a secure digital (SD) memory card, a multimedia card (MMC), a smartmedia (SM) card, a universal serial bus (USB) memory card, or anxD-picture card can be used as the external storage unit 146.

[0063] The second scanning apparatus of FIG. 5 may be connected to aplurality of external storage units 146. The internal storage unit 144is mounted in the scanning apparatus of FIG. 5. The controller 142detects whether the external storage unit 146 is connected to thescanning apparatus, through an attachment/detachment state of theexternal storage unit 146, stores the scanned result in the externalstorage unit 146 upon determining that the external storage unit 146 isattached to the scanning apparatus, and stores the scanned result in theinternal storage unit 144 upon determining that the external storageunit 146 is not attached to the scanning apparatus.

[0064] The scanning apparatus of FIG. 5 is further provided with a firstinterface unit 148. The first interface unit 148 interfaces thecontroller 142 with the external storage unit 146.

[0065] The scanned result stored in the external storage unit 146 and/orthe internal storage unit 144 shown in FIG. 5 can be printed. Theexternal storage unit 146 can be attached (connected) to a device, suchas another combination apparatus, another printing unit, anotherscanning unit, or a personal computer. The scanned result stored in theexternal storage unit 146 can be printed through the device. Also, thescanned result stored in the internal storage unit 144 can be printedthrough the controller. When the scanning apparatus further includes thesecond interface unit 150, the controller 142 outputs the scannedresult, read from one of the internal storage unit 144 and the externalstorage unit 146, to a print engine through the second interface unit150 and an output terminal OUT. The print engine prints the scannedresult inputted from the controller 142 through the second interfaceunit 150.

[0066] The controller 142 receives the scanned result from an externalapparatus, such as another scanning apparatus (not shown) or anothercombination apparatus having a scanner or a printer, through the firstinterface unit 148 and an input terminal IN. The controller 142 mayoutput through the second interface unit 150 the scanned result, whichis received from the external apparatus through the first interface unit148, to another external apparatus, such as the print engine, or maystore the scanned result, which is received from the external apparatusthrough the first interface unit 148, in the internal storage unit 144or the external storage unit 146.

[0067] The scanning apparatus shown in FIG. 5 may be the combinationapparatus performing the scanning operation of scanning the document andthe printing operation of printing the scanned result. In this case, thecontroller 142 controls overall functions of the combination apparatus.

[0068] A scanning and printing method performed using the scanningapparatus shown in FIG. 5 according to another embodiment of the presentinvention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

[0069]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the method performed in thescanning apparatus shown in FIG. 5. The method includes operations 170through 176 of storing the scanned result in at least one of theinternal storage unit 144 and the external storage unit 146, operations178 through 182 of storing the scanned result, stored in the internalstorage unit 144 and read from the internal storage unit 144, in theexternal storage unit 146 according to the attachment state of theexternal storage unit 146, and an operation 184 of determining whether anext image (document) is ready to be scanned.

[0070] The scanning method of FIG. 6 is performed using the scanningapparatus of FIG. 5 as follows.

[0071] The document is scanned in the second scanning unit 140 inoperation 170. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a detail operation 170A ofthe operation 170 of FIG. 6. The detail operation 170A includesoperations 200 through 204 of scanning the document which is ready to bescanned.

[0072] It is determined whether the document to be scanned is ready inthe second scanning unit 140 in operation 200. The document is scannedupon determining that the document is ready to be scanned, in operation202. It is determined whether the scanning of the document is finished,in operation 204. The operation 202 is performed again when the scanningof the document is not finished yet. The operation 172 of FIG. 6 isperformed when the scanning of the document is finished.

[0073] The controller 142 determines whether the external storage unit146 is attached to the scanning apparatus of FIG. 5, in operation 172.

[0074] When the external storage unit 146 is attached to the scanningapparatus, the controller 142 stores the scanned result in the externalstorage unit 146 in operation 174. The scanned result, stored in theexternal storage unit 146, can be a scanned result outputted from thesecond scanning unit 140 or another scanned result which has beeninputted from the input terminal IN and stored in the internal storageunit 144.

[0075] When the external storage unit 146 is not attached to thescanning apparatus of FIG. 5, the controller 142 stores the scannedresult in the internal storage unit 144 in operation 176. The scannedresult, stored in the internal storage unit 144, can be another inputtedfrom the second scanning unit 140 or another scanned result which hasbeen inputted from the input terminal IN and stored in the internalstorage unit 144 by the controller 142.

[0076] The scanning method selectively includes operations 178 through184 of FIG. 6 as follows.

[0077] Also, the method of the scanning and/or printing apparatus ofFIG. 3 may include operations 178 and 182 of the scanning method shownin FIG. 6. In this case, the controller 142 determines whether theexternal storage unit 146 is attached to the scanning apparatus of FIG.5, in operation 178. The operation 178 is performed when the externalstorage unit 146 is not attached to the scanning apparatus of FIG. 5.The controller 142 stores the scanned result, which has been stored inthe internal storage unit 144, in the external storage unit 146 inoperation 182, when the external storage unit 146 is attached to thescanning apparatus of FIG. 5.

[0078] In order to perform operations 172 and 178, the controller 142may employ a general recognizing method of recognizing the attachmentstate of a memory which is able to be detachably attached to a personalcomputer. For example, a plug & plug technology to recognize anattachment of the external storage unit 146 and another technology torecognize the attachment of the external storage unit 146 using aprotocol, such as IEEE 1394, can be used as the recognizing method toperform the operations 172 and 178.

[0079] The scanning method may further include the operation 180. Whenthe external storage unit 146 is attached to the scanning apparatus ofFIG. 5, it is determined whether the scanned result, which has beenstored in the internal storage unit 144, should be stored in theexternal storage unit 146, in operation 180. If the scanned result,which has been stored in the internal storage unit 144, should be storedin the external storage unit 146, the scanned result, which has beenstored in the internal storage unit 144, is stored in the externalstorage unit 146 in operation 182.

[0080] Also, the scanning method may further include the operation 184in addition to the above scanning method. If the scanning method isperformed using operations 170 through 176 and 184, it is determined inoperation 184 whether a next document should be scanned after operation174 or 176. If the scanning method is performed using operations 170through 178, 182, and 184, it is determined in operation 184 whether thenext document should be scanned after operation 174 or 182. If thescanning method is performed as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined inoperation 184 whether a next document should be scanned after operation174 or 182 or when it is determined that the scanned result, which hasbeen stored in the internal storage unit 144, should not be stored inthe external storage unit 146. If the next document needs to be scanned,operation 170 is performed.

[0081] As described above, since the scanning and/or printing apparatusand method of the above embodiments can scan the document and print thescanned result without being connected to the personal computer, theuser can use the first scanning unit 16 and the printing unit 18 as thecombination apparatus. Even if the first scanning unit 16 and theprinting unit 18 are spaced-apart by a distance, the user can scan thedocument and print the scanned result by moving the first storage unit10 from the first scanning unit 16 to the printing unit, for example, bydetaching the first storage unit 10 storing the scanned result from thefirst scanning unit 16 and by connecting the first storage unit 10 tothe printing unit 18, thereby providing convenience to the user. Sincethe scanned result is stored in the external storage unit 146 ratherthan in the hard disk of the personal computer, and the external storageunit 146 is detached from the scanning apparatus to print the scannedresult, it is not necessary to provide the cables to connect thescanning apparatus to the personal computer.

[0082] Since the scanned result is stored in the internal storage unit144 while the external storage unit 146 is not connected to the scanningapparatus, the scanned result, stored in the internal storage unit 144,can be stored in the external storage unit 146 later when the externalstorage unit 146 is attached to the scanning apparatus. Therefore, thedocument is scanned and the scanned result can be stored in the realtime regardless of the attachment (detachment) state of the externalstorage unit 146 to the scanning apparatus. In a case that the scanneris not connected to a plurality of personal computers, the personalcomputer, not connected to the scanning apparatus, can obtain thescanned result through the external storage unit 146. Therefore, asingle scanning apparatus can be commonly used with the personalcomputers which are not connected to the scanner, so that the personalcomputer, which is not connected to the scanning apparatus, can obtainthe scanned result through the external storage unit 146.

[0083] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scanning and/or printing apparatus, comprising:a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting a scanned result; astorage unit storing the scanned result inputted from the scanning unit;and a printing unit reading the scanned result from the storage unit toprint the scanned result, wherein the storage unit is selectivelyconnected to one of the scanning unit and the printing unit.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising; a first connector connectingthe storage unit to the scanning unit; and a second connector connectingthe storage unit to the printing unit.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the scanning unit comprises: an input/output port; and ascanning control unit outputting the scanned result to the storage unitthrough the input/output port and the first connector.
 4. The apparatusof claim 3, wherein the scanning unit further comprises a display unitdisplaying the scanned result and a key unit generating at least one ofa searching signal, a deleting signal, and a selecting signal, and thescanning control unit scrolls the scanned result displayed on thedisplay unit according to the searching signal of the key unit, deletesthe scanned result according to the deleting signal of the key unit,selects the scanned result according to the selecting signal of the keyunit, and generates a control signal to control the display unit todisplay the scanned result.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein theprinting unit comprises: an input/output port; and a printing controlunit reading the scanned result inputted from the storage unit throughthe input/output port and the second connector to print the scannedresult.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the printing unit furthercomprises a display unit displaying the scanned result read from thestorage unit and inputted through the input/output port and a key unitgenerating at least one of a searching signal, a deleting signal, and aselecting signal, and the printing control unit scrolls the scannedresult displayed on the second display unit according to the searchingsignal of the key unit, deletes the scanned result according to thedeleting signal of the key unit, selects the scanned result according tothe selecting signal of the key unit, and generates a control signal tocontrol the display unit to display the scanned result.
 7. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the storage unit comprises: a universal serial bus(USB) flash memory stick.
 8. A method of a scanning and/or printingapparatus, the method comprising: causing a storage unit to be connectedto a scanning unit scanning a document and outputting a scanned result;storing the scanned result inputted from the scanning unit into thestorage unit; causing the storage unit to be connected to a printingunit reading the scanned result from the storage unit; and printing thescanned result read from the storage unit in the printing unit.
 9. Ascanning and/or printing apparatus, comprising: a scanning and/orprinting unit scanning a document and printing the scanned result; and aplurality of storage units storing the scanned result inputted from thescanning and/or printing unit, wherein the scanning and/or printing unitprints the scanned result read from the storage units.
 10. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein the scanning and/or printing unit comprises: aplurality of connectors connecting corresponding ones of the storageunits to the scanning and/or printing unit.
 11. The apparatus of claim10, wherein the scanning and/or printing unit further comprises: aninput/output port; and a scanning/printing control unit outputting thescanned result to the storage units through the input/output port andcorresponding ones of the connectors, and printing the scanned resultinputted from the storage units through the input/output port and thecorresponding ones of the connectors.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the scanning and/or printing control unit further comprises adisplay unit displaying the scanned result scanned from the document andread and inputted from the storage units through the input/output port,and a key unit generating at least one of a searching signal, a deletingsignal, and a selecting signal, and the scanning control unit scrollsthe scanned result displayed on the display unit according to thesearching signal of the key unit, deletes the scanned result accordingto the deleting signal of the key unit, selects the scanned resultaccording to the selecting signal of the key unit, and generates a firstcontrol signal to control the display unit to display the scanned resultscanned from the document and a second control signal to control thedisplay unit to display the scanned result and inputted from the storageunits through the input/output port.
 13. A method of a scanning and/orprinting apparatus, the method comprising: scanning a document in ascanning and/or printing unit; storing a scanned result in a pluralityof storage units; reading the scanned result from the storage units; andprinting the scanned result read from the storage unit.
 14. A scanningapparatus, comprising: a scanning unit scanning a document andoutputting a scanned result; at least one external storage unitdetachably attached to the scanning apparatus; at least one internalstorage unit; and a controller detecting an attachment state of theexternal storage unit, and storing the scanned result in at least one ofthe external storage unit and the internal storage unit according to thedetected attachment state of the external storage unit.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the scanned result stored in the one ofthe external storage unit and the internal storage unit is printed. 16.The apparatus of claim 14, comprising: a combination apparatus mountedwith a copier having a copying function.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14,further comprising: a first interface unit interfacing the externalstorage unit with the controller.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, furthercomprising: a second interface unit, wherein the controller receives thescanned result from an outside of the scanning apparatus through thefirst interface unit, and outputs the scanned result inputted from theoutside of the scanning apparatus through the first interface unit tothe outside of the apparatus through the second interface unit, and thescanned result to be outputted to the outside of the scanning apparatusthrough the second interface unit is printed.
 19. A method of a scanningapparatus, the method comprising: scanning a document and outputting ascanned result in a scanning unit; causing an internal storage unit tobe disposed inside the scanning apparatus; detecting an attachment stateof the external storage unit to the apparatus; storing the scannedresult in the external storage unit if it is determined that theattachment state is one in which the external storage unit is attachedto the scanning apparatus; and storing the scanned result in theinternal storage unit if it is determined that the attachment state isone in which the external storage unit is not attached to the scanningapparatus.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising; storing thescanned result, which has been stored in the internal storage unit, inthe external storage unit when the external storage unit is attachedafter the scanned result has been stored in the internal storage unitaccording to the detected attachment state.
 21. The method of claim 19,further comprising; determining whether the scanned result of theinternal storage unit should be stored in the external storage unit whenthe external storage unit is attached to the scanning apparatus; andstoring the scanned result of the internal storage unit in the externalstorage unit upon determining that the scanned result of the internalstorage unit should be stored in the external storage unit.
 22. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising; determining whether a nextdocument should be scanned upon determining that the scanned result ofthe internal storage unit should not be stored in the external storageunit when the external storage unit is attached to the scanningapparatus; and scanning the next document upon determining that the nextdocument should be scanned.
 23. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising; determining whether a next document is ready to be scanned;scanning the next document upon determining that the next document isready to be scanned; and storing the scanned next result in one of theinternal storage unit and the external storage unit according to thedetected attachment state of the external storage unit.
 24. The methodof claim 19, wherein the scanning of the document comprises: scanningthe document using a combination apparatus having a copier having acopying function.
 25. A scanning apparatus, comprising: a scanning unitscanning a document to output a scanned result; and a storage unitdetachably attached to the scanning unit, and storing the scanned resultinputted from the scanning unit.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, whereinthe storage unit comprises: one of a memory stick (MS), a compact flash(CF) card, a secure digital (SD) memory card, a multimedia card (MMC), asmart media (SM) card, a universal serial bus (USB) memory card orstick, and an xD-picture card.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, whereinthe storage unit is directly attached to the scanning unit.
 28. Theapparatus of claim 25, wherein the storage unit is not connected to thescanning unit through a processing unit disposed outside of the scanningapparatus
 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the scanning unitcomprises an input/output port connectable to a personal or portablecomputer which controls the scanning unit to scan the document to outputthe scanned result.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the storageunit is not connected to the scanning unit through the personal orportable computer.
 31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the storageunit comprises a first sub-storage unit and a second sub-storage unit,and the scanned result is stored in the first sub-storage unit and thesecond sub-storage unit simultaneously.
 32. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the storage unit comprises a first sub-storage unit and a secondsub-storage unit, the scanned result comprises a first sub-scannedresult and a second sub-scanned result, and the first sub-scanned resultand the second sub-scanned result are stored in the first sub-storageunit and the second sub-storage unit, respectively.
 33. A printingapparatus, comprising: a printing unit; and a storage unit detachablyattached to the printing unit and storing a scanned result, wherein theprinting unit prints the scanned result read from the storage unit. 34.The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the storage unit is directly attachedto the printing unit.
 35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the storageunit is not connected the printing unit through a processing unitdisposed outside of the printing apparatus.
 36. The apparatus of claim33, wherein the printing unit comprises an input/output port connectableto a personal or portable computer which controls the printing unit toscan the document to output the scanned result.
 37. The apparatus ofclaim 36, wherein the storage unit is not connected to the printing unitthrough the personal or portable computer.
 38. The apparatus of claim33, wherein the storage unit comprises a first sub-storage unit and asecond sub-storage unit, the scanned result comprises a firstsub-scanned result and a second sub-scanned result stored in the firstsub-storage unit and the second sub-storage unit, respectively, and theprinting unit prints one of the first sub-scanned result and the secondsub-scanned result read from the first sub-storage unit and the secondsub-storage unit.
 39. A scanning and printing apparatus, comprising: ascanning unit scanning a document to output a scanned result; a printingunit printing the scanned result; and a storage unit detachably attachedto the scanning unit to store the scanned result, and detachablyattached to the printing unit to output the scanned result to theprinting unit.
 40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the storage unitis directly attached to the scanning unit without interference of aprocessing unit disposed outside of the scanning and printing apparatus.